As keynote speaker at the opening session of the CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) Conference on Infrastructure for the Development of Latin America, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Argentine Chief of Cabinet of Ministers Marcos Peña stressed the importance of infrastructure as a vehicle to boost growth and productivity.

“Argentina is experiencing a period of great enthusiasm and transformation,” said Peña, alluding to yesterday’s announcement that the government has opened the bids for the first six contracts to be tendered under the country’s new US $26 billion Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme. Grouped into 10 consortiums, 19 national and seven international companies from the United States, China, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Colombia presented a total of 32 bids for six road projects, amounting to over 3,000 km of national roads and an investment of around US$8 billion over several years. The project will generate more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and reduce accidents by almost 70%.

Peña celebrated this demonstration of the growing confidence in the national economy, stressing the need “to show that Argentina can not only develop superb infrastructure, but also reduce costs and banish corruption… It is impossible to separate infrastructure development from transparency and integrity.”

Peña also recalled that infrastructure for development is one of the three priorities of the 2018 Argentine presidency of the G20. “Our outlook should embrace a positive vision from the region and seek cooperation with regional and international organizations to address the specific challenges of infrastructure,” he added.

The CAF event, which takes place at the Alvear Icon Hotel in the Puerto Madero neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, covers a wide range of topics, from the evolution of infrastructure and the challenges of transportation in Latin America to the role of the private sector, the use of big data for the planning and management of infrastructure, and mechanisms to promote regional integration.

Among the more than 70 speakers at the event are Argentine Minister of Transport, Guillermo Dietrich; Argentine Minister of the Interior, Rogelio Frigerio; Argentine Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo; Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, María Eugenia Vidal; provisional President of the Argentine Senate, Federico Pinedo; Minister of Modernization, Andrés Ibarra; Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, as well as leading experts from the region and the world.

- -

 

About Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Argentina

Argentina has an ambitious PPP programme to attract private sector investment in the construction and maintenance of long-term infrastructure projects. Over 60 projects around the country will publish calls for tenders in 2018, amounting to US$ 26 billion cumulative investment over the next 4 years. Companies from Argentina, Europe, the United States, Asia and the rest of Latin America are expected to take part.

The project portfolio is structured around four broad sectors: Energy and Mining; Transport, Communications and Technology; Water, Sanitation and Housing; Health, Justice, and Education. Projects in the pipeline include the construction of more than 2,800 km in highways and 4,000 km in safe roads across the country (provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Misiones, Corrientes and Chaco); the improvement of existing railway tracks and the construction of 685 km of new railroads; the construction of new high voltage transmission lines, and the construction or remodelling of penitentiaries and hospitals.

More information is available on the website of the Finance Ministry of Argentina: https://www.minfinanzas.gob.ar/uppp/english/e_index.php.

 

Infrastructure on the Argentine G20 presidency agenda

Infrastructure for development is one of the three priorities of the 2018 Argentine G20 presidency. Aware of its key role for boosting physical and digital access, productivity and growth, the group will seek to lay out a path towards developing infrastructure as an asset class by improving project preparation, moving towards greater standardization of contracts and infrastructure financing instruments, addressing data gaps, and improving risk mitigation.

More information is available on the Argentine G20 website: https://g20.org/.